Wheel puller



' Ma ch '23, 1937.

H. HERKIMER WHEEL FULLER Filed Mafch 21, 1956 Wi liam f V A ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 23, 1937 Y some ori WHEEL PULLER and Harold Herkimer Application March 21, 1936, Serial No. 70,095

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in wheel pullers and has particular reference to a device for removing the fly wheels of pumps, compressors and like machines from the shafts thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved device of simple and practical construction adapted forconnection t0 spokes of a wheel in such manner as to facilitate the removal of the latter from its shaft by producing an evenly distributed pulling force upon the wheel in the direction of its axis irrespective of the number of spokes in said wheel.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the wheel puller showing its application to a fly wheel containing an odd number of spokes.

Figure 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the device.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section therethrough, and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of the device to a wheel having an even number of spokes.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the numeral 5 indicates a fly wheel which may be mounted upon the shaft 6 of a pump or compressor and which is adapted to be removed therefrom when making certain repairs. Owing to the tightness with which fly wheels are customarily mounted upon their shafts, it is often necessary to employ an apparatus for removing the fly wheel and in so doing care should be taken that the pulling which is necessary to remove the wheel be confined to an outward direction exactly longitudinal of the shaft. The device herein disclosed provides a simple and efiective means for accomplishing this purpose and its construction is such that it is equally applicable to fly wheels having both even and odd numbers of spokes.

As shown, the device comprises a base member I of hexagonal formation which may be made as a forging or casting. On the inner side of the base member, which is adjacent the fly wheel when the device is in operative position, said member is provided at its central portion with an enlargement or boss 8 having a threaded aperture 9 therein which extends through the base member, and said boss is formed with a plurality of radially extending sockets Hi, there being three of said sockets shown and arranged equi-distant apart at angles of 120. In line with the sockets ID the perimeter of the base member 5 is provided with the lugs l I each having an opening l2 therein for the reception of an angularly disposed pin l3. The opening l2 of each lug is aligned with the opening in its associated socket l0 and said openings are so disposed that when a pin I3 is snugly but removably fitted into the same so as to be frictionally maintained in position therein, said pin will be disposed diagonally with respect to the plane of the base member 1 and will extend outwardly in the direction of said plane which is also in the direction of movement of the base plate when a wheel is being pulled.

Before each pin I3 is mounted in position on the base plate one end of a flexible element, such as a link or chain I4, is inserted into the space between an adjacent socket I0 and lug H. When said end, which comprises one of the links of the chain, has been aligned with the openings in the socket and lug, a pin is driven into said openings and through said link so as to connect the chain Hi to the base plate. The engagement of the pin l3 in its socket I0 is such as to tightly maintain said pin in position but still permit of its extraction from the base plate to remove the associated element l4 should the latter become damaged or broken, thus enabling the replacement of said element.

An operating member for the device is provided in the form of a screw l5 threaded in the opening 9 of the boss 8 at the center of the base plate and preferably pointed at its inner end l6 for engagement with the end of the shaft 6, the outer end of said screw having a head I! for application of a wrench or other suitable tool thereto for turning the screw during the operation of the device.

In practice, when it is desired to remove a fly wheel from its shaft, the usual wheel retaining element on the shaft is first displaced and the present device is then connected to the wheel. When a wheel having an odd number of spokes is to be removed such as the three-spoke wheel of Figure 1 the device is positioned with the end iii of the screw in engagement with the shaft 6 and extending in axial alignment therewith. The base plate 1 is then turned until the pins l3 are disposed in horizontal alignment with the spokes of the wheel. Each chain It is then extended or looped about one of the spokes and the free end link of said chain is then placed over the projecting end of the same pin to which the other end of said chain is connected. After the three elements l4 have been thus looped about the three spokes of the wheel and joined to their respective pins the screw I6 is turned in the proper direc- 5 tion to cause the base plate I! to move outwardly thereon and thus tighten the chains l4. As this movement progresses a direct pull in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft 6 will be exerted upon the fly wheel and the same will 10 thus be withdrawn from its shaft after which the device is quickly detached from the wheel by disengagement of the outer end links of the chains from the respective pins. In the case of the application of the device to a wheel having an even number of spokes, such as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 4, after the screw member l6 has been engaged with the end of the shaft carrying such wheel, the base plate 1 is turned so that that one of the pins I3 is longitudinally 20 aligned with one of the spokes, such as the spoke l8. Thereupon in the case of a four-spoke wheel, the other two pins will extend between adjacent spokes. The chain I4 connected to the firstnamed spoke is then looped about said spoke and its free end link is connected to its pin in the same manner as described in connection with Figure 1. The chain of one of the other pins is then looped about an adjacent spoke and its free end is connected to the third pin, while the chain joined to the latter pin is looped about the same spoke and has its free end connected to the second mentioned pin. When thus disposed, the pull exerted by the pins during the operation of the base plate will again be equally distributed so that the fly wheel will be withdrawn from its shaft in a longitudinal direction and without any binding action thereagainst.

What is claimed is:

A wheel puller comprising a base plate having a central boss and lugs arranged at intervals about the perimeter thereof, a series of pins extending radially from said boss and through said lugs at equally spaced distances, with the outer ends of said pins projecting beyond said perimeter, a flexible spoke-embracing element for each pin having one end connected thereto between said boss and the lug through which the pin extends and attachable at or adjacent its other end to the projecting end of the pin to which the first-named end is joined, and a screw threaded boss and engageable with the shaft of a wheel to exert a pulling action upon the latter through said spoke-embracing elements when said screw is turned.

HERBERT HERKIMER. 

